Farm group pushes for broad immigration reform

Feb. 10, 2014
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The American Farm Bureau Federation study says said that fruit and vegetable growers would be among the hardest-hit in changes to agricultural labor reform focusing solely on immigration enforcement. / John Moore, Getty Images

by Christopher Doering, USATODAY

by Christopher Doering, USATODAY

WASHINGTON - The country's largest farm group said Monday that changes to agricultural labor reform focusing solely on immigration enforcement would raise food prices by 6% and reduce the country's food and fiber production by as much as a $60 billion annually.

In a 45-page study released by the American Farm Bureau Federation, the agriculture group said that fruit and vegetable growers and livestock owners would be hit the hardest.

According to the report, under an enforcement-only scenario fruit production would plummet in the United States by 30% to 61%, vegetable output by 15% to 31%. The impact to fruits and vegetable crops would be the most severe because they must be picked by hand, meaning a sudden loss in workers would increase the chance that some of the produce would go unpicked and rot in the field. Livestock also would be hit with production falling by 13% to 27%,the farm group said.

The report found that consumers and the agricultural sector would benefit from a comprehensive approach that includes an overhauled guest-worker program, the chance for skilled workers to earn an adjustment of status over time and immigration enforcement. A mixed approach would have little to no effect on the price consumers pay for food, and farm income would be cut by less than 1%.

The report was conducted for the Farm Bureau by World Agricultural Economic and Environmental Services.

"Status quo is not a viable option for anyone involved in this issue, and as a nation, we expect better," said Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau.

"Over five years, an enforcement-only approach would lead to losses in farm income large enough to trigger large scale restructuring of the sector, higher food prices, and greater dependence on imported products," Stallman said. "With a reworked guest worker program, and by allowing skilled laborers to earn an adjustment of status, food prices remain stable and there are only marginal impacts on production."

The chance of immigration reform grew even more uncertain after House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, last week cast doubts that a bill can pass this year, saying House Republicans weren't moving a bill because of "widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws." Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who sponsored the comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed the Senate last year, has proposed letting the law be enforced in 2017, after President Obama leaves the White House.

Still, Schumer told NBC's "Meet the Press"Sunday that optimism for a deal is waning. "It's been a tough week for immigration," he said.

The agriculture industry has told Congress a failure to reform the labor policy would threaten to drive more production outside of the country, leave more fruits and vegetables vulnerable to rotting in fields, and put at risk the abundant and safe food supply found in the United States.

The biggest beneficiaries of the new immigration bill in agriculture would be dairy, cattle and swine farmers in states such as Iowa, as well as in California, Florida and other areas where undocumented workers are heavily used to harvest fruits and vegetables. Row crops such as corn and soybeans are harvested mechanically, reducing the need for human labor.

Farm and livestock farmers are pushing to overhaul H-2A visas, which allow the agriculture industry to hire temporary workers to fill jobs that can't be filled by U.S. workers and are valid for limited periods of time.

In the United States, there are about 1.1 million hired workers for crops and livestock - with about half of them believed to be in the country illegally, according to one government estimate. The Agricultural Workforce Coalition, a group of nearly 70 farm organizations concerned about finding enough workers, puts the number at 1 million to 1.5 million, with 60% to 70% of them here illegally.